Implications of atmospheric conditions for analysis of surface temperature variability derived from landscape-scale thermography

Thermal infrared (TIR) cameras perfectly bridge the gap between (i) on-site measurements of land surface temperature (LST) providing high temporal resolution at the cost of low spatial coverage and (ii) remotely sensed data from satellites that provide high spatial coverage at relatively low spatio-temporal resolution. While LST data from satellite (LSTsat) and airborne platforms are routinely corrected for atmospheric effects, such corrections are barely applied for LST from ground-based TIR imagery (using TIR cameras; LSTcam). We show the consequences of neglecting atmospheric effects on LSTcamof different vegetated surfaces at landscape scale. We compare LST measured from different platforms, focusing on the comparison of LST data from on-site radiometry (LSTosr) and LSTcamusing a commercially available TIR camera in the region of Bozen/Bolzano (Italy). Given a digital elevation model and measured vertical air temperature profiles, we developed a multiple linear regression model to correct LSTcamdata for atmospheric influences. We could show the distinct effect of atmospheric conditions and related radiative processes along the measurement path on LSTcam, proving the necessity to correct LSTcamdata on landscape scale, despite their relatively low measurement distances compared to remotely sensed data. Corrected LSTcamdata revealed the dampening effect of the atmosphere, especially at high temperature differences between the atmosphere and the vegetated surface. Not correcting for these effects leads to erroneous LST estimates, in particular to an underestimation of the heterogeneity in LST, both in time and space. In the most pronounced case, we found a temperature range extension of almost 10 K

A Framework to Reveal Clandestine Organ Trafficking in the Dark Web and Beyond

Due to the scarcity of transplantable organs, patients have to wait on long lists for many years to get a matching kidney. This scarcity has created an illicit market place for wealthy recipients to avoid long waiting times. Brokers arrange such organ transplants and collect most of the payment that is sometimes channeled to fund other illicit activities. In order to collect and disburse payments, they often resort to money laundering-like schemes of money transfers. As the low-cost Internet arrives in some of the affected countries, social media and the dark web are used to illegally trade human organs. This paper presents a model to assess the risk of human organ trafficking in specific areas and shows methods and tools to discover digital traces of organ trafficking using publicly available tools

Reactivity of [Cp′′ 2 Zr(η 1:1 −E 4 )] (E=P, As) towards Nucleophiles

The functionalization of the polypnictogen ligand complexes [Cp′′2Zr(η1:1-E4)] (E=P (1 a), As (1 b); Cp′′=1,3-di-tertbutyl-cyclopentadienyl) is focused to modify the features of the polypnictogen unit to explore new synthetic pathways for further transformations. The reaction behavior of 1 towards main group nucleophiles is investigated. The reaction of 1 a with tBuLi leads to the ionic product Li[Cp′′2Zr(η1:1-P4tBu)] (2) where an organic group is attached to a bridgehead phosphorus atom of the butterfly unit. Further reactions of 2 with quenching electrophilic reagents enable the introduction of other substituents. Moreover, a condensation of 2 to [(Cp′′2Zr)2(μ,η1:1:1:1-P8tBu2)] (3), containing a novel P8-unit, has been observed. The reaction of 1 with LiNMe2 and LiCH2SiMe3 leads to a partial fragmentation of the E4 unit and the compounds [Cp′′2Zr(η2-E3Nu)] (Nu=NMe2: E=P (6 a), As (6 b); Nu=CH2SiMe3: E=P (7 a), As (7 b)) are formed

SoK: The Engineer’s Guide to Post-Quantum Cryptography for Embedded Devices

Embedded systems are flexible and cost-effective and thus have found a use case in almost every part of our daily lives. Due to their widespread use, they have also become valuable targets for cyber attacks. However, translating cutting-edge cyber security from servers and desktops to the embedded realm can be challenging due to the limited computational power and memory of embedded devices. Although quantum computing is still in early research and development, it threatens to break conventional asymmetric cryptography which is a key component of most secure applications currently in use. Given the long lifespan of embedded devices, which can last for decades, research must find solutions for post-quantum (PQ) security rather sooner than later. The field of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) received significant attention in 2019 when the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) launched a competition to find suitable PQC algorithms. During the PQC competition, the applicability of novel PQC algorithms to embedded devices was an important topic that garnered significant research interest. We provide a survey of the latest research regarding PQC for embedded systems. However, rather than focusing on PQC algorithms, our study revolves around practical use cases intending to help embedded developers understand the current state of research from an integration perspective

E 4 Transfer (E=P, As) to Ni Complexes

The use of [Cp′′2Zr(η1:1-E4)] (E=P (1 a), As (1 b), Cp′′=1,3-di-tert-butyl-cyclopentadienyl) as phosphorus or arsenic source, respectively, gives access to novel stable polypnictogen transition metal complexes at ambient temperatures. The reaction of 1 a/1 b with [CpRNiBr]2 (CpR=CpBn (1,2,3,4,5-pentabenzyl-cyclopentadienyl), Cp′′′ (1,2,4-tri-tert-butyl-cyclopentadienyl)) was studied, to yield novel complexes depending on steric effects and stoichiometric ratios. Besides the transfer of the complete En unit, a degradation as well as aggregation can be observed. Thus, the prismane derivatives [(Cp′′′Ni)2(μ,η3:3-E4)] (2 a (E=P); 2 b (E=As)) or the arsenic containing cubane [(Cp′′′Ni)3(μ3-As)(As4)] (5) are formed. Furthermore, the bromine bridged cubanes of the type [(CpRNi)3{Ni(μ-Br)}(μ3-E)4]2 (CpR=Cp′′′: 6 a (E=P), 6 b (E=As), CpR=CpBn: 8 a (E=P), 8 b (E=As)) can be isolated. Here, a stepwise transfer of En units is possible, with a cyclo-E42− ligand being introduced and unprecedented triple-decker compounds of the type [{(CpRNi)3Ni(μ3-E)4}2(μ,η4:4-E′4)] (CpR=CpBn, Cp′′′; E/E′=P, As) are obtained

Effects of eight neuropsychiatric copy number variants on human brain structure

Many copy number variants (CNVs) confer risk for the same range of neurodevelopmental symptoms and psychiatric conditions including autism and schizophrenia. Yet, to date neuroimaging studies have typically been carried out one mutation at a time, showing that CNVs have large effects on brain anatomy. Here, we aimed to characterize and quantify the distinct brain morphometry effects and latent dimensions across 8 neuropsychiatric CNVs. We analyzed T1-weighted MRI data from clinically and non-clinically ascertained CNV carriers (deletion/duplication) at the 1q21.1 (n = 39/28), 16p11.2 (n = 87/78), 22q11.2 (n = 75/30), and 15q11.2 (n = 72/76) loci as well as 1296 non-carriers (controls). Case-control contrasts of all examined genomic loci demonstrated effects on brain anatomy, with deletions and duplications showing mirror effects at the global and regional levels. Although CNVs mainly showed distinct brain patterns, principal component analysis (PCA) loaded subsets of CNVs on two latent brain dimensions, which explained 32 and 29% of the variance of the 8 Cohen’s d maps. The cingulate gyrus, insula, supplementary motor cortex, and cerebellum were identified by PCA and multi-view pattern learning as top regions contributing to latent dimension shared across subsets of CNVs. The large proportion of distinct CNV effects on brain morphology may explain the small neuroimaging effect sizes reported in polygenic psychiatric conditions. Nevertheless, latent gene brain morphology dimensions will help subgroup the rapidly expanding landscape of neuropsychiatric variants and dissect the heterogeneity of idiopathic conditions

Android Security: Creation Of A Virtual Learning Environment

Android is the most popular mobile operating system. Its omnipresence leads to the fact that it is also the most popular target amongst malware developers and other computer criminals. Hence, this thesis shows the security-relevant structures of Android’s system and application architecture. Furthermore, it provides laboratory exercises on various security-related issues to understand them not only theoretically but also deal with them in a practical way. In order to provide infrastructure-independent education, the exercises are based on Android Virtual Devices (AVDs)

Das Feuer-Regime und dessen Einfluss auf die Vegetation im Okavango Delta, Botswana

The scope of the study was to analyse the fire history and the effects of fire on vegetation for the floodplains of the southern Okavango Delta in Botswana. The fire history of the study area was reconstructed by using a series of 98 satellite images from 1989 until 2003 and habitat types based on the flood frequency were separated. Annual extent of fires, main fire season, maximum fire frequency and mean fire frequency related to flood frequency were calculated. The temporal occurrence of fire could be associated to rainfall and flood-events and the interaction of the spatial distribution of fire on different habitat types was discussed. Vegetation response to fire was studied by analysing the relation of vegetation structure and species composition to fire frequency and time-since-fire, as well as by comparing burned and unburned sites. Woody species were shown to be generally negatively affected by frequent fires. Reduced cover values after periods with high fire frequency were also observed for single wetland species. Post-fire succession was shown to be not only driven by the life-history of the occurring species, but also by competition and niche differentiation.Der Inhalt der Studie war die Untersuchung der Feuergeschichte sowie der Einfluss von Feuer auf die Vegetation der Floodplains im südlichen Okavango Delta in Botswana. Die Feuergeschichte wurde anhand einer Sequenz von 98 Satellitenbildern von 1989 bis 2003 rekonstruiert und Habitattypen wurden anhand von Flutfrequenzen differenziert werden. Das Ausmaß der jährlich gebrannten Fläche, die Hauptfeuersaison, die maximal Feuerfrequenz sowie die mittlere Feuerfrequenz in Relation zur Flutfrequenz wurden ermittelt. Das zeitliche Auftreten der Feuer konnte mit Niederschlag und Überflutungsereignissen in Zusammenhang gebracht werden und das Zusammenspiel der räumlichen Verteilung der Feuer auf verschiedenen Habitattypen wurde diskutiert. Der Einfluss von Feuer auf die Vegetation wurde anhand der Wirkung von Feuerfrequenz und der Zeitspanne seit dem letzten Feuer (time-since-fire) auf die Vegetationsstruktur und Artenzusammensetzung sowie durch den Vergleich von gebrannten und ungebrannten Flächen untersucht. Hohe Feuerfrequenzen wirkten sich prinzipiell negative auf Gehölze aus und auch einzelne Feuchtgebietsarten zeigten verringerte Deckungswerte bei hoher Feuerfrequenz. Die Sukzession nach Feuer erwies sich als nicht nur bestimmt durch die Überlebensdauer der vorkommenden Arten, sondern auch durch Konkurrenz und Nischendifferenzierung

A metric to assess the trustworthiness of certificate authorities

In the recent past, there has been a series of security incidents leading to increasing concern regarding the trust model currently employed by public key infrastructures. One of the key criticisms is the architecture’s implicit assumption that certificate authorities (CAs) are trustworthy a priori. This work proposes a metric to compensate this assumption by a differentiating assessment of a CA’s individual trustworthiness based on objective criteria. The metric utilizes a wide range of factors derived from existing policies, technical guidelines, and research. It consists of self-contained submetrics allowing the simple extension of the existing set of criteria. The focus is thereby on aspects which can be assessed by employing practically applicable methods of independent data collection. The metric is meant to help organizations, individuals, and service providers deciding which CAs to trust or distrust. For this, the modularized submetrics are clustered into coherent submetric groups covering a CA’s different properties and responsibilities. By applying individually chosen weightings to these submetric groups, the metric’s outcomes can be adapted to tailored protection requirements according to an exemplifying attacker model.In der jüngeren Vergangenheit führte eine Reihe von Sicherheitsvorfällen zu Skepsis bezüglich des momentan etablierten Vertrauensmodells von Public-Key-Infrastrukturen. Einer der Hauptkritikpunkte ist dabei die implizite Annahme, dass Zertifizierungsstellen (CAs) a priori vertrauenswürdig sind. Diese Arbeit stellt eine Metrik vor, welche diese Annahme durch eine differenzierte Beurteilung der individuellen Vertrauenswürdigkeit einer CA auf Basis objektiver Kriterien kompensieren soll. Hierfür bedient sie sich einer Vielzahl verschiedener Faktoren aus technischen Richtlinien und Forschungsarbeiten. Die Metrik besteht aus in sich abgeschlossenen Submetriken. Diese ermöglichen eine einfache Erweiterung des bestehenden Kriterienkatalogs. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf Aspekten, welche durch praktisch anwendbare, unabhängige Methoden der Datenerhebung beurteilt werden können. Die Metrik ist dafür vorgesehen, Organisationen, Dienstleistern und Einzelpersonen bei der Entscheidung zu helfen, welchen CAs sie trauen und welchen sie nicht trauen sollten. Die modularisierten Submetriken sind dafür in themenverwandte Gruppen unterteilt, welche verschiedene Eigenschaften und Aufgaben der CAs abdecken. Durch eine individuelle Gewichtung der einzelnen Submetrik-Gruppen kann die Metrik an Hand eines beispielhaften Angreifer-Modells an maßgeschneiderte Schutzbedarfe angepasst werden